Always
by xXMaddie
Summary: Three days after Iris died in a car accident, she finds herself returning back to Earth as a spirit. Twoshot. Negaishipping
1. Chapter 1

Iris fluttered her eyes open as everything became clearer. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, wondering where she was. The only thing she remembered was the darkness she faced just some seconds ago and nothing else. Iris glanced around the room she was at, running her hand along the bed. There was something familiar with this boyish room, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Just then someone grabbed the door knob, making Iris yelp in surprise. A raven haired boy causally entered the room and dropped his schoolbag on the floor. Iris clasped her hand over her mouth as the memories came flooding back. "Ash!"

Ash looked up in surprise, his eyes widened in shock as he recognized her. Iris wasn't sure how she expected him to react when he saw her again, but his reaction was nothing like what she thought it would be. A smile or maybe a happy greeting wouldn't hurt, but Ash did neither out of these options.

Ash jumped back in horror as he yelled at the top of his lungs, making Iris frown in disappointment as she watched him.

xxx

It turned out that Iris passed away three days ago. After the terrible car accident that caused the young girl's death, everyone was trying to get used to continue their daily life. Iris remembered everything clearer by each minute, but she was rather confused by why she still was on the Earth. She studied her arm and realized she wasn't a human anymore, but a.. ghost? She felt lighter, and she didn't have to walk from place to place. She could simply teleport or fly. But the coolest thing in her opinion was that she could walk through things.

Iris stopped exploring her ghost abilities as Ash sneezed under his blanket. For a whole hour he had hidden under his blanket, shivering as he tried to avoid her.

Iris sighed as she had enough. "Ash, that blanket isn't going to protect you from ghosts you know."

"I- I used to do this when I was younger," Ash stammered, not looking up.

"How long are you going to stay like that?"

"I- Iris, I'm scared!"

Iris bit her lower lip as the anger boiled inside her. "WHATS WITH THAT ATTITUDE!? YOUR DEAD GIRLFRIEND CAME BACK TO SEE YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HER? ISN'T THIS A TOUCHING MOMENT OR SOMETHING?" Iris walked over to the bed as she forcefully dragged his blanket.

"I'm sorry!" Ash helplessly apologized, curling up like a ball. "I'm sorry for calling you a kid when I'm a kid myself. I'm even more sorry for calling your favorite shows stupid. And I'm extremely sorry for everything else I've ever done to you! I'm really sorry!"

Iris dropped the blanked as she blinked at him. "Why are you apologizing? I'm not mad at you or anything."

"So you aren't going to haunt me forever?" Ash looked up at her with a questioning expression.

Iris frowned again. How could he think of such a thing!? Why should she haunt him for!? An idea popped into the purple haired girls' mind as a smile creeped up on her face. She took a step closer to her raven haired boyfriend and flashed him a creepy-looking smile. "That's right. I've returned to haunt you and kill you."

Ash's loud scream filled the whole house once again.

xxx

"I can't believe him, May!" Iris complained the next day. "He actually _believed_ me! What kind of person do he think I am?"

"Iris," May whispered as she glanced around the school cafeteria. "Why did you decide to appear in a crowded place like this? It looks like I'm talking to myself."

"But it looks like you and Ash are the only ones who can see me," Iris continued.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Drew asked as he sat down beside May. "Have you gone insane?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," May pouted, rolling her eyes at Iris.

"Do you know where Ash is?" Iris asked as she stood up.

"Oh, he's probably by the football field," May replied before she took a bite of her sandwich. Drew looked confusedly at her and then looked around him. Looks like he couldn't see Iris either.

"Thank you," Iris smiled as she hurried outside. The school seemed to go as usual. She spotted him by the football field as May said, sitting by the grass and watching the others play. Iris decided to sneak up at him and hurried over.

She suddenly appeared in front of him, putting on her creepy-looking expression in the process. As expected Ash screamed loudly again as he jumped back.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Ash yelled as he curled up like a ball again.

"Me?" Iris said. "Why are YOU avoiding me all the time? I'm scared as well, I recently died!"

"But..." Ash sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

"All I want is to say goodbye to you, but you scream every time I go near you!" Iris sighed. "And you even thought that I would haunt you! If you keep running away like this I don't think I'll ever go to heaven."

Ash looked down at the ground. "Sorry."

"We can't apologize to each other all the time," Iris said in a calmer voice. "So, I'll just say goodbye now. Ash, thanks for-"

"Oh my Arceus, Ash! Are you okay?" Iris and Ash looked up to see Anabel running towards them with a worried expression on her face. In the last few months Iris had suspected her for liking Ash, but she was never sure. Well until now.

Anabel bent down and put a hand over Ash's forehead. "I saw you fall earlier," she explained. "Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy?"

"U- uh no, I'm okay," Ash replied.

Iris flashed him a disapproving look as she watched Anabel gazing into his eyes. Iris never had any problems with Anabel, but she didn't like her being so close to Ash. She wore make up today for a change, and she also seemed to have dressed up a bit. Her short orchid colored hair was pulled up in a pony tail, and even Iris had to admit she looked cute. "You weren't this close when I was around," Iris pointed out, breaking the slight silence.

"We aren't really close," Ash said. "We just talk after football practice, that's all."

"If you say so..." Iris said. "It's just that..."

"Don't worry Iris," Ash smiled slightly at her. "She knows you're my girlfriend."

"Iris?" Anabel asked, pouting cutely. "Ah, she was your girlfriend from the other class, right? I heard that she passed away recently. You're talking to yourself because you're still in shock, right? Aww, you're so cute." Anabel moved closer to him and tilted her head.

"Uh, right," Ash said, looking rather a little uncomfortable.

"So, I have something to ask you." Anabal got a serious expression on her face. "I've liked you for a long time now, and... Do you think I could replace your dead girlfriend? You know, to help you get over her and such?"

xxx

"How dare she say such a thing so sudden!?" Iris ranted on their way home from school. "I won't let that happen! I won't!"

Ash laughed at her, ruffling her hair. "Don't worry about that," he simply said. "Nothing's going to happen between us."

"How do you know that?"

"She will become tired of my childish behavior sooner or later anyway," Ash said. "It's always been like that."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked. "I didn't become tired of your childish behaviors? Maybe she won't either."

"That's because you're just as childish as me!" Ash grinned, pushing her forwards. "I bet you can't get to the arcade before me!"

Before Iris could reply, Ash was already running down the hill towards the city's downtown. Iris smiled slightly as she watched him run. "What a kid."

...

"Hey, how did you get here before me?" Ash panted as he approached Iris outside the arcade. "Man, this is so unfair!"

"Ha, that's a secret," Iris winked at him.

Ash frowned at this and looked down in disappointment. "So close."

"Anyway, lets enter the arcade! I haven't been there in three days," Iris enthusiastically said.

"Right," Ash smiled, grabbing her hand. "Hey, how come I can grab your hand, but you still can walk through stuff?"

Iris replied with a shrug as they entered the large arcade. Everything was as she remembered it was. The same games and toy vending machines. A crane vending machine caught Iris' eyes. The machine was filled with many different Pokemon plushies, but in her opinion the Axew plushie was the cutest. She nudged Ash and pointed at the machine. "I want to try that one."

"The crane machine?" Ash asked as he glanced at it. "Sure."

The two of them walked over and eyed the various Pokemon plushies. Iris was about to put a coin in, but Ash stopped her. "Let me do it," he grinned at her. "Which one do you want?"

"The Axew one," Iris explained. "You sure you can get it?"

"I'm completely sure," Ash said proudly and grabbed the joystick. "Here we go."

Iris watched as Ash concentrated to catch the plushie she wanted. The claw grabbed the toy, making her cheer out of joy. "Just a little more.."

"Got it!" Ash sighed in relief, handing her the plushie.

"Thank youuu!" Iris squealed, hugging the plushie. Ash got some weird looks because it looked like the plushie was flying, but he didn't care about that. As long Iris was happy, he was happy.

"Aaaaash!"

Iris flinched at the voice, wishing they were somewhere else. She quickly handed Ash the plushie and took a step back. She then forced herself to look behind her, only to face a happy-looking Anabel approaching them. She walked right past Iris, making Iris remember that she couldn't see her.

"What a surprise," she giggled, playing with her locks. "I was just about to-"

"He doesn't care!" Iris yelled as she pushed Anabel, making her stumble forward.

Anabel glanced around her with a puzzled expression, wondering what just happened.

"You okay?" Ash asked worriedly, looking at Iris with a frown. Iris crossed her arms and looked away.

"Haha, I'm okay," Anabel replied. "But that was weird, don't you think? Maybe it was the spirit of your dead girlfriend?"

"Uhm," Ash flinched a bit.

"But I don't believe in such things," Anabel continued. "And even if such things existed, they couldn't hurt me. Anyway, I don't think it's good to spend too much time thinking about your ex. It would be better if you moved on. So, come and join me to some karaoke! Gary and the others will be there too."

'Ex girlfriend you say?' Iris thought as she gritted her teeth. She shoot Ash an annoyed glare and walked away.

"No, Iris! Wait for a sec!" Ash called after her, waving his hand.

"Wait," Anabel said as she blocked the way. "You can't keep calling after her. I know it hurts, but someone who's dead won't ever come back. So please forget about her and join me instead."

Iris couldn't stand standing in outside anymore and hurried over to Anabel. She jumped on top of her and forcefully held her down. "STOP BUTTING INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS ALL THE TIME! ALL THIS TIME I HAVE BEEN LISTENING QUIETLY ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT ME WITHOUT-"

"STOP!" Ash yelled, interrupting Iris' little 'speech.' "I think that's enough, so just disappear already!"

Iris' eyes widened in surprise as she quietly stood up again. Anabel also got a surprised look on her face. "Sorry, did you mean me?"

"No sorry, not you," Ash said as he helped Anabel back up. "I think karaoke sounds good. I'll gladly join you."

Iris watched them as they walked off together, Ash's words replaying in her mind. _Just dissappear already._

**Thanks for reading! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can, hopefully by tomorrow**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the nice reviews, guys! Here's the last chapter:**

**x**

"Do you feel any better now?" May flopped down on the bed next to Iris.

"Not really," Iris replied and hugged her knees tighter. "But Ash had a point, I don't really belong here anymore. I should be at..." She bit her lip and looked at the floor, not able to finish her sentence.

"There should be a reason you're still here, don't you think?" May said sympathically.

"Maybe.. But I don't think Ash needs me anymore. Then what am I here for?"

"Nu- uh, I think you're wrong."

"How come?"

"Ash was quite different from everyone else at your funeral. He had this shocked expression on his face the whole time, and he looked pretty helpless. I felt incredibly sad for him, I've never seen that kind of expression on his face before."

"He's usually a cheerful kid, isn't he?" Iris said with a small smile. She thought about the first time she met him back at elementary school. Her only friend that time, Misty Waterflower, recently moved to an another region. Iris had always been 'the weird girl', but no one dared to bully her because of Misty, who was known for her temper and strength. So when Misty had been away for a while, the other kids started to pick on Iris again. Ash noticed this and hurried over to stand up for her. The two of them ended up being slightly beaten up, but they didn't really care about it. Things went better shortly after, and they started going out in middle school. Everything was going well until the terrible accident three days ago. Iris also lost her mother in that accident, only leaving her dad and brother behind. She didn't have the heart to face them again, and therefore she only visited her room. The single rose on her bed was enough to make her shed a tear.

"I wonder how Mom is doing."

"I'm sure she's fine," May said in a soft voice.

Just then there was a knock on May's bedroom door. "Mom said dinner's ready!" Max yelled before he ran off again.

"Anyway, I think you should at least say goodbye to Ash one last time before you reunite with your mother," May said.

"Yeah," Iris said as she stood up. "And May, thanks for everything."

"Thank you as well," May smiled with teary eyes as she pulled Iris into a tight hug. "It's like I'm hugging air," she laughed.

Iris laughed as well. "Yeah, take care of yourself and everyone. And say hi to your boyfriend Drew from me."

May's mad blushing and embarrassed ranting was the last thing Iris saw of her.

x

"GOAAAL!" Ash yelled happily as he pumped his fist into the air. He smiled widely at Anabel as he pointed at the screen. "Did you see that!? I scored, _again_!"

"That's because this arcade game is meant for little kids," Anabel rolled her eyes at him. "Can we go somewhere else?"

"It's not for kids," Ash replied as he hit the 'restart' button.

"Ooh! Let's watch that movie!" Anabel pointed at a large poster beside the cinema.

"Oh no, not that cheesy romance movie," Ash sighed. "But that action movie looks amazing though! Let's watch that one after I score once again."

Anabel clenched her fists and sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

x

Two hours later both of them walked out of the cinema, Ash with a smile and Anabel with a frown. "That was one awesome movie, right?" Ash asked.

"Well..." Anabel failed big time when she tried to get closer to him. When she tried to grab his hand, Ash slapped both of his hands on his forehead. Probably because of some stupid thing the actor did. And when she tried to rest her head on his shoulder, he stood up to buy some popcorn. That way she hit her head on the chair's arm support. "It was fine," she finally replied, rubbing her head.

Ash threw the empty popcorn in the trash can as they walked further. He couldn't help but think about Iris the whole time he and Anabel had been together. Iris and Anabel were quite different. Iris would challenge him to play any game in the arcade, but Anabel thought games were for little kids. When he and Iris went to the movies or karaoke, they basically agreed to watch the same movie or sing the same songs. They were alike that way, and therefore they got a long almost perfectly. 'Why did I tell her to disappear,' he asked himself and kicked a small stone on the ground.

"Look, a ferris wheel!" Anabel squealed, tugging his arm. "I want to ride that, come on!"

"Uh, wait!" Ash said as he came back to reality.

Anabel didn't listen as she dragged him to the line. "How romantic," she said as she looked at the ferris wheel. "Don't you think so too?"

Ash frowned at the ferris wheel. There was something wrong about this, but he couldn't put his finger on it. When it almost was their turn to climb on, Ash remembered the whole thing. Five days ago, he and Iris walked past this ferris wheel. Neither of them had money, so Ash promised to take her in the weekend before they took it down. Why was he here with an another girl when he already had a girlfriend? Ash felt guilt filling him as Anabel was about to climb into the small carriage. "Hey, Anabel."

Anabel glanced at him with a confused expression. "What is it?"

"I'm not supposed to ride this with you," he said, trying to hold his voice cool.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes.

"I.. I need Iris with me!" Ash ran past Anabel and into the carriage. He knew what he just said was cheesy, but he didn't care about that. From the window he saw her angrily stomping off, clearly annoyed. He closed his eyes and buried his face into his hands. 'Dang it, don't cry! I promised myself I wouldn't cry!'

"Hey."

Ash looked up and locked eyes with Iris, hope filling him. "Iris.."

"Don't call me. Weren't you the one who told me to disappear?"

"Yea," Ash said, looking at the floor. "I'm really sorry, I- I don't know what got into me. Everything just scared me back then. The fact that you.. can't.."

"Yeah, I'm dead," Iris said with a sad expression. "We can't go to the arcade anymore, have Pokémon battles or ride the ferris wheel once again. This really is the last time..." Her voice cracked in the end, tears filling her eyes.

"Dang it," Ash ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Sorry, I'm not cool at all. Crying all the time like this..."

"Ash.." Now tears were flooding down Iris' cheeks too. "I'm not either. I'm sorry for being angry, jealous and annoying! I'm not cute at all!"

"I don't mind those things, I'm not better anyway. And besides, I like those things about you."

"You do?" Iris wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "I wish I could stay longer."

Iris felt lighter, and soon she was flying higher up from her seat, slightly turning invisible. "Looks like my time here is over," she said with a small smile.

"Wait," Ash said with a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Thank you for everything, I really love you."

"Iris!" Ash called one last time as she disappeared, leaving him alone in the carriage.

x

Ash walked over to his shelf and placed the Axew plushie nicely next to his trophies. He sighed heavily as he walked to the window. The sky was clear and cloudless with thousands of twinkling stars looking down on the town. _Dont worry, Ash. From now on I'll be the star in the sky who will always look out for you._


End file.
